THE controversial Duterte’s war against drugs hogged the limelight again with the recent ruling of the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) denying the Philippines’ appeal on the Pre-Trial Chamber’s order for ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan to go ahead with his investigation of charges of extra judicial killings and human rights violations reportedly being faced by former President Rodrigo Duterte, and Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, former chief of the Philippine National Police.
The reaction that matters most came from President Bongbong Marcos himself, who has asserted the “full disengagement” of the Philippines from the ICC. Read that as, “we won’t cooperate.” Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said he advised the President about the full disengagement and he agreed, and that no further steps are needed as far as the state is concerned.
Officials such as Justice Secretary Boying Remulla maintain that since March 16, 2019 when the withdrawal of membership of the Philippines from the ICC took effect, that court lost its jurisdiction over us, a position being assailed by government critics from the left (red), yellow, and pink camps.
The chamber voted 3-2 in junking the Philippines’ appeal.
Senator Francis “Tol” Tolentino told his colleague and client Senator Dela Rosa to relax because that court “does not even have jurisdiction.”
Tolentino said: “Once again, the denial of the appeal does not grant the ICC the jurisdiction which it lacks from the very beginning. Any misguided claims suggesting otherwise would only highlight ICC’s persistent disregard for Philippine sovereignty. It is important to note that a foreign entity has no authority to investigate the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.”
Senator Tol conceded that there could be some psychological restrictions on both Duterte and Dela Rosa, but because there is still no warrant of arrest, they may relax and maintain their peace of mind.
After all, as long as they are in the Philippines and President Marcos is upholding the same policy as Duterte’s on the matter, they will be OK. As a precaution, Remulla advised the two to keep away from countries which are members of the ICC, and whose officials have an ax to grind, as a matter of personal security. That advice should hold water when a warrant of arrest has been issued for the two respondents.
Tolentino downplayed the latest ICC ruling to junk the Philippine government’s appeal to stop its investigation into the country’s drug war, noting that it was not even unanimous since the tribunal’s appeals chamber voted 3-2.
Presiding Judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut of France and Judge Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia had disagreed with the majority, Judges Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza of Peru, and Piotr Hofmański of Poland, who voted to reject the Philippine government’s appeal.
In their dissenting opinion, Brichambaut and Lordkipanidze said they would have voted to uphold the Philippines’ first ground of appeal on whether or not the ICC has jurisdiction in the case. They said Article 127 of the Rome Statute cannot be invoked in the Philippines’ situation since the country announced its withdrawal from the international treaty that established the ICC in 2018.
Tolentino noted the 3-2 vote outcome shows a “sharply divided” ruling, and that the dissenting opinion of the two judges carries more weight.
#ViewFromCalumpang #ICCProbe #Tolentino #Duterte #RodrigoDuterte #PRRD #Marcos #PBBM #DelaRosa #Bato #OpinYon